Best Place to Jog

Downtown St. Louis

The best jogging route is the one you map out for yourself. For the purposes of this contest, let's say the best jog nowadays is the Downtown St. Louis Jog, and you can map your own route. Though your aim is to release endorphins and hunkify your calves, you also want to see what's going on, who's on the street, who's on the street with a dog, what's in the galleries, what outrage Bob Cassilly has perpetrated, which old building is being revitalized, which new building is filling up. So: Begin at the Milles Fountain across from Union Station and make your way north to Washington Avenue. Head east; when you reach the Eads Bridge (which Walt Whitman called a "structure of perfection and beauty unsurpassable"), cross it, availing yourself of the sidewalk on the south side so you can take long, luxuriant ganders at the Arch. Touch toe to Illinois (so you can tell your friends your running often involves two states) and then head back across the bridge. When you get to the Missouri side, hang a left and run through the Arch grounds. Be careful crossing the perilous Memorial Drive into Luther Ely Smith Park. Soak in the sight of the Old Courthouse, then follow Market Street west back to the fountain and cool off. Cool fountain spray is one reward. The other is the mental movie you've made of a town on the mend, shot from a runner's intimate perspective.